


Broken

by ObsidianButerfly



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: AU, F/M, Gen, Hurt Fai, Hurt Syaoran, Hurt everyone!!!, I'm not kidding, Oppressed magical society in hiding, Post-TRC, Sometimes at the same time, Whump, You Have Been Warned, bad people do bad things to the good guys, lots of graphic torture in later chapters, major WHUMP-age, no seriously everyone gets hurt physically or emotionally, so if this is not your thing, turn back now, usually both
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-11-21 16:51:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11361579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsidianButerfly/pseuds/ObsidianButerfly
Summary: Who do you trust when the ones you love the most are the ones to betray you? What do you do when even your mind turns treacherous? How do you stay strong when your spirit, mind and body are broken?





	1. Betrayed

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so this is a somewhat more polished version of story posted on ff.net. Some of the characters may seem a little OOC but trust me that is on 'purpose'. It will all make sense in a few chapters so give this a shot and leave your thoughts in the comments :)

Syaoran was roughly shoved through the door. Stumbling on weakened legs, he stumbled and cried out as his battered body crashed into the floor. He gave a strangled yelp when rough hands grabbed him by the hair and began to carelessly drag him across the length of the room.

He felt a moment of weightlessness as his body was lifted off the ground. Sharp spikes of pain shot through his broken right arm and he whimpered, cradling the limb close to his chest. The man holding him moved towards a low, rectangular box that was set against the wall farthest from the door and opened its lid with a kick.

Through blurred vision, Syaoran took in the dimension of the container, noting how it was hardly bigger than a storage chest.

By the time his exhausted mind worked out the purpose of the chest, Syaoran was already being lowered inside. The man roughly positioned Syaoran’s legs, tucking them against his chest in such a way that his body fit within.

Turning his head, Syaoran met the emotionless, crimson eyes staring at him.

“K-Kurogane-san…” He struggled to lift his left arm to reach out for the man. “Why?”

“Shut up you stupid brat.” The man snarled, angrily shoved his arm back inside the box. When he tried to get out, Kurogane grabbed Syaoran by the hair and banged his head against the wooden bottom. Dazed, Syaoran could do nothing to stop him as the man began to close the top. Behind him, the familiar figure of Sakura appeared, watching the proceedings with aloofness as the lid was closed completely.

“Sakura!” he cried despite the sandpaper scraping the insides of his throat, his voice hoarse from the hours of screaming before.

“You deserve this,” she said, voice cold as the frigid winter of Celes as the lock was slid into place. “You deserve all that has been done to you.”

“No,” he gasped, trying to pound against the chest with his good arm even though there was barely any room to move. Even the simple task of drawing a breath seemed like a chore in such confined space. “Please, don’t leave me…”

He could hear the echo of their receding footsteps. His heart began to pound harder against his chest.

_They’re leaving!_

“Sakura! Kurogane-san!” he tried to scream though his voice was barely audible, even to himself.

“You will die here, alone.” Were Kurogane’s parting words before the door was shut with a resounding _bang_. The sound of his ragged breathing was the only thing that pierced the silence that followed.

He tried to keep the panic at bay but he could feel the chest beginning to shrink. The walls were collapsing inwards, trying to crush him. The darkness threatened to make him a part of itself. It threatened to swallow his existence to the extent that he wouldn’t even be a memory. _I’m going to die…_

Abandoned by the ones he had cherished more than life itself.

The air grew stale with every breath he took. The loss of oxygen left his lungs unsatisfied, wanting more and more. He tried conserving the air by taking deeper breathers but with his chest being crushed against his legs there wasn’t any room. The box was too small. And he was running out of oxygen.

Terrified of the end, he began to struggle anew, trying so hard to ignore the stabs of agony shooting through his broken arm with every move. Tears of helplessness prickled his eyes but he refused to give in. _I’m going to die in here…_ A harsh, laugh that was more a cough escaped his lungs, breaking off into a near sob. _And no one is coming to save me._

After all, his _friends_ had been the ones who did this to him.

Try as he might, he could never recall what had caused them to turn on him. Could never remember what he might have done to deserve his current fate. Kurogane, Fai, even his beloved Sakura… they all hated him. Hated him enough to torture without mercy for more than a month. Or had it been a year already? He could no longer tell. Time had lost its meaning since he had first been brought to this hell hole.

He closed his eyes, trying to picture their faces as they once had looked at him, with love and care, tried to imagine their voices as they had once spoken to him, with compassion but all he could see was their hate filled eyes,  all he could hear was their harsh taunts.

_You deserve this._

“No…”

_You deserve everything._

“No…”

_You’ll die alone._

His lungs burnt. He was suffocating. There was no room to breathe and darkness was reaching out with its greedy hands to swallow him whole.

“No! Let me out!” he screamed, dipping into his last reservoir of strength as terror completed its hold over him.

“Sakura…Kuroga-…some-one please hel-p me…”

There was yelling in the distance but his oxygen deprived brain couldn’t find itself to feel any more afraid. Raised voices usually spelled agony for him but he was already sinking into the darkness.

Something big collided with the door but he lost his hold on consciousness long before the intruders managed to break it down. He was gone by the time they managed to make it inside. He never felt the pair of strong arms that gently pulled him out of the chest nor did he feel the tingling sensations of inter-dimensional magic as his unmoving form was whisked away from that world.


	2. Bedlam

The wisps of inter-dimensional magic faded away, depositing Kurogane and his companions in a sea of golden sand. He glanced down at the prone body in his arms, just to reassure himself that the boy was still with them. His heart clenched with a nameless emotion as Kurogane took in his beaten, emaciated face. “Don’t worry kid, we’ve got you.” He mumbled, securing his hold on the boy, even as anger surged through his veins, setting his blood aflame. Just what the fuck had those bastards been doing to the kid? If they ever landed in that accursed world again, Kurogane was going to make them _wish_ they had never been born. Right now, however, they needed to get the boy some help. Every breath he took was a terrifying rattle, terribly shallow and laborious. “Mage, where are we?” he demanded, not looking away from the kid. "Mage?" Receiving no answer, he growled and glanced over his shoulder to the place where the blond would be, only to realize that he wasn’t there.

Spinning on his heel, Kurogane searched his surroundings for his wayward companion only to realize that Fai was nowhere to be seen. The comatose manju, however, lay a few feet away.

_Fuck!_ Kurogane cursed, recalling the flash of silver in his peripheral vision moments before the mage’s spell had whisked them away. Or rather, whisked away everyone but the blond. _The dart must have hit the idiot._

“Kurogane-san?” the hesitant voice brought him back to the present and Kurogane cursed some more, even as he whirled around to meet the gaze of a startled priest. How could he have been careless enough to let someone sneak up on them? Yukito’s tentative smile transformed to a horrified gasp as his eyes landed on the boy. “Is that… that’s _Syaoran-kun!_ How… W-What happened? _”_

“Questions later,” Kurogane growled, ordering the priest to pick up the manju with a jerk of his head as he set off in the direction the man had come from. “He needs help.”

“I’ll inform Sakura-chan to have the infirmary prepared,” the priest said shakily before mumbling an arcane spell. The air tingled with magic as they crested a dune, the proud city of Clow visible in the distance. Yukito chanted a new spell, this time guiding the magic with his staff and the sand kicked up as a swirling portal materialized four feet in front of them. The other end opened up into the spacious infirmary that Kurogane had only ever been to once before to seek medical aid, back when they had defeated Fei Wang Reed. Without hesitation, he stepped through, Yukito following right on his heels just as the double doors burst open to let in the princess.

Her emerald eyes shone with worry as she hurried towards them, her face going white the minute her gaze landed on Syaoran. Thankfully, she knew better than to ask unnecessary questions as she turned towards the nearest bed and indicated for Kurogane to lay the boy down. Once relieved of the prone body, Kurogane stepped back, letting the young priestess take over. A melodic hum filled the air, the scent of magic filling up his surroundings as Sakura began a long chain of spellcasting. Kurogane watched her work, listening as she rattled a long list of ingredients she required to treat the boy’s wounds. Without a word, the priest hurried away to fetch what was needed and Kurogane slumped into the nearest chair, watching the girl work. Worry for the kid, the manju and the mage gnawed at his insides, fraying at his nerves little by little as the seconds ticked by, turning to minutes that turned to hours as the princess worked without pause.

It was near sundown that Kurogane was pulled out of his stupor as the princess turned to him with a watery smile, her face still pale as a sheet though she tried to be brave.

“He’s… out of danger,” she told him, “but his right arm needs to be reset. It was broken and the bone was never aligned properly. Its begun to heal crookedly so we have to—” her voice shook and she stopped, drawing in a deep breath to fortify herself.

“We need to break the bone again before it can be set.” Kurogane stood up with a nod, taking pity on the girl and saving her from having to say it out loud.

“Y-Yes,” she said, biting her lip as she tried to fight back her tears. “I will be able to heal it once we have it in a splint.” A tear slid down her cheek and she hastily wiped it away with her hand. She stole a glance at Syaoran and a few more tears escaped. “Kurogane-san, where is Fai-san? And how did this… what happened?”

“We gotta finish taking care of the kid first,” he told her gently, not wanting to think about the fate that awaited the mage, if _they_ had indeed succeed in capturing him. Maybe they had gotten separated in the interdimensional sea though Kurogane doubted that was the case. He watched the princess caress the boy’s cheek, tenderly pushing his filthy hair out of his face before stepping away with a nod.

Kurogane approached the boy, who looked so much like a child at that moment. Taking care not to cause him undue pain, Kurogane took hold of Syaoran’s swollen arm and yet a pained whimper still escaped the boy’s lips. Feeling along the limb, Kurogane found the break and grit his teeth as he applied pressure. The cooked bone broke with an audible snap and Syaoran awoke with an agonized howl. His eyes snapped open as he shot upright, tears of pain trailing down his dirty face. The boy tried to pry his arm free, raking at Kurogane’s hands with bloody nails, screaming all the while.

“Kid!” Kurogane grabbed his free hand and as though someone had flipped a switch, Syaoran stopped struggling and screaming. The boy gazed up at him in naked fear, tear silently streaming down his dirty cheeks.

“K-Kurogane-san,” he mumbled in a hoarse whisper, desperate and terrified. “Don’t…”

“Don’t what, kid?” the ninja asked in a tone so soft, he even surprised himself.

“Don’t… Don’t hurt me… _please_ ,” he begged, trying to tug himself free despite his broken arm. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry... Please, don’t hurt me.”

“What?” he yelled, losing control over his tone as icy shock doused him. The vehement reaction only seemed to set the boy off as he curled in on himself, mumbling the same plead over and over again. Syaoran shook so violently the bandages wrapped around his torso began to show flashes of red.

“Syaoran,” Sakura murmured, gently resting her right hand on his shoulder as she tried to offer him comfort. The boy merely whimpered, shrinking away from the touch as he turned his lackluster gaze towards the princess.

“Sakura-hime, y-you’re here too…”

“Yes.” She offered him a soft smile and the boy screwed his eyes shut,

“Please,” he whispered, fresh tears leaking past his closed eyes, “It hurts so much… please, just stop… don’t… don’t hit me again…”

“What?” Sakura mirrored Kurogane’s response, albeit hers was more breathless as she stumbled back.

“Not again!” he cried out, renewing his struggles against Kurogane’s hold as his eyes snapped open. He kicked off the sheets, trying to scramble away from the both of them though not managing to succeed as Kurogane refused to let go. “Just leave me alone! Please, I’m begging you…”

“Syaoran.” Sakura reached out to calm him down only her touch had the opposite effect.

“No!”

“Kid, calm down,” Kurogane tightened his grip on the struggling brunette but that too, turned out to be a very bad idea.

“Leave me alone!” A surprisingly strong kick connected with Kurogane's temple, leaving him dazed. Though it hadn’t been the blow itself, but rather, its suddenness that made Kurogane let go of the boy. Instead of trying to get away from them however, this time, Syaoran merely curled in on himself as though trying to shield his body from invisible blows. “Stop tormenting me.” He sobbed, cradling his newly broken arm, “kill me if you want to but please…” his voice cracked, “stop showing me kindness just so you can hurt me again.”

Hurt flashed across Sakura’s features at his words as Kurogane came to a heartrending conclusion. So long as the boy was awake, there was no way he would let them help him. So without another word, Kurogane reached out and grabbed Syaoran by the shoulder while he spare hand moved towards the boy’s neck. Pure, unadulterated terror flashed in the boy’s gaze as he looked up at Kurogane through bloodshot eyes.

“Sleep, kid,” he ordered the boy, pinching the pressure point at the boy’s neck. Syaoran’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he slumped against Kurogane like a rag doll. Kurogane gently lay the boy back again, carefully rearranging the sheets to cover his bandaged torso while the princess sobbed next to him.

“Kurogane, please tell me,” Sakura said through her tears, “what happened?”

Kurogane sighed heavily, slumping back in the chair he had previously occupied before gesturing for the princess to do the same. His gaze settled on his student’s pale visage, fists subconsciously clenching as he studied every bruise, every burn, ever cut that lingered on the boy’s body before beginning to speak. “The last world that we visited, it was a lot like hell. We didn’t…”


	3. Berserk

_A hand roughly gripped him by the shirt and pulled him along with a jerk. Syaoran stumbled through the pristine and narrow hallways, the injury in his leg where he had been shot throbbing in pain with each step. With his hands bound in manacles and chains, there wasn’t much he could do but follow after his captor. The hulking man possessed muscles that would have made Kurogane look lithe, and though Syaoran knew he might have been able to fight him off, had he been able to use his magic, the chains that bound him kept it far out of his reach. That, coupled with the injury, meant that all Syaoran could do was shuffle along in a hasty scuttle to save himself from the indignation of being dragged._

_The man stopped in front of a nondescript door that swung inwards at their arrival. The man shoved him over the threshold, keeping his other hand wrapped around the chain attached to the manacles. Syaoran tripped over his feet and nearly fell flat on his face, only to be pulled back by the chain at the last moment. His head spun and the world flashed white before his eyes as the resulting jerk nearly tore his arms out of their sockets. He blinked back tears of pain, head shooting upwards at the sound of a loud click. Somewhere behind him, gears whirred noisily. When the chain began clinking across the ground, Syaoran realized that his captor had attached its other end to some sort of rolling mechanism that was steadily moving towards the roof. Within seconds, he found himself partially handing from the ceiling, standing on his toes to alleviate the pressure from his arms._

_It was, Syaoran decided, not a very pleasant position to be in while injured as his arms began to throb, the manacles painfully digging into his wrists. He gave the chain an experimental tug but that only seemed to lock the mechanism in place. Heels clacked across the floor behind him and though Syaoran tried craning he head, he couldn’t see who the newcomer was._

_Something cold and shard, probably a knife of some sort, pressed against his throat and Syaoran froze. It pressed into his skin and he held his breath, a part of him wondering if perhaps they were going to kill him. Much to his relief, the pressure lessened after a few seconds. He couldn’t help but shudder when the knife’s edge trailed over his shoulder and came to rest at the nape of his neck. It slid downwards, neatly slicing through his shirt to expose his back to the chilly air._

_Within minutes, Syaoran was shivering in the biting cold as the temperature in the room dropped. The person standing behind him chuckled and Syaoran felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment and anger._

_“You’re soon going to be begging for the cold,” said his mammoth-like captor from somewhere behind him._

_He heard something slosh before scalding hot liquid splashed against his back. Syaoran couldn’t help the surprised yelp that escaped his lips as the pain registered. His eyes stung as he rocked on his toes, the cold air offering only a moment of relief before another bucket of near boiling water was thrown at his back. Syaoran gasped, trying to swallow the cry of pain before it could escape. Thrice more, he was allowed a brief moment of rest before another bucket full of scalding liquid was thrown at him before the presence standing behind him moved away. His ears rang in the silence that followed and Syaoran tensed, unsure of what to expect next._

Crack!

_A line of agony carved a path across his back and for a moment, Syaoran forgot how to breathe, watching a thin, snake-like_ thing _slither across the floor and out of his line of sight. His ears registered the whoosh of air as the thing sailed through the air. The sharp slap of the whip meeting his naked back was followed by his scream._

-0-

_Crack!_

Fai couldn’t bite back the scream as the whip tore at his flesh, spreading fire across his abused back yet again.

Taking in slow, deliberate breaths, he tried to block the pain. Focusing inwards in the brief moments of rest he was allowed, he tried to calm his racing thoughts and slow down his heartbeat. Whatever drug they had given him, it was ripping down his mental shields and wreaking havoc around his mind. The poison burned his insides, suppressing his magic to the point of non-existence.

_Crack!_

The whip slashed across his back, tearing out a scream from his lips.

He was barely conscious by the end of it, only vaguely aware of the scalding blood dribbling down his back. It soaked through his jeans to pool about his bare feet. Before bringing him to the chamber, they’d taken away all his clothes, except for a thin t-shirt and his pants which Fai had suspected to be nothing more than intimidation or perhaps humiliation tactics. He’d born it all with a grin he knew infuriated that brutish captor of his.

And then the woman accompanying him had brought out the blade to cut off his shirt. That had been before the forced bath with near boiling water and the flogging session that seemed to have spanned an eternity. Now that they’d left him alone, however, the biting cold had only made his discomfort worse, his extremities going numb as Fai struggled to stay awake. He so wanted to slip into the blissful oblivion of sleep but they were still there and Fai didn’t want himself to leave vulnerable in their presence. Not that he was in a position to do anything when he could barely draw enough oxygen in his lungs. His vision dimmed around the edges as he hung, swaying on the tips of his toes.

“Where are the others?” the brute demanded as he grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked them back so far Fai was forced to stare at the ceiling. “You know where the witch is hiding with all the other heathens. Where. Are. They?” the last three words were punctuated with powerful jerks and Fai felt a few hair part with his scalp.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Fai was rewarded by a punch to the ribs that left stars flashing across his vision. He grunted in pain but managed not to cry out. _That’s going to leave a bruise._

“Let’s see how long you can keep up with your bullshit.” The man sneered, his moist breath brushing against Fai’s ear as he jerked Fai’s head even further back. The woman with him approached with clacking heels and Fai tensed up. She pressed something cold to his neck, lining up the metallic rod vertically with his throat. It rested against his Adam’s apple while a collar-like contraption was fitted around his neck. The brute holding him by the hair let go as the woman took a step back and Fai nearly sighed in relief.

His relief, unfortunately, was short-lived for when he trying lowering his head to let it hang freely, two sharp tips dug into his collarbone and his throat just under the chin. Dread coiled in his stomach as he pulled his head back and realized that the points had stopped digging into his skin. Fai experimentally lowered his head, feeling the metal digging into his flesh once more. Careful not to let his frustration show, Fai flashed a grin towards his captors before raising his head to stare up at the ceiling.

 

Without another words, they turned and walked away. The door fell shut with a bang, and Fai let the grin slip from his face with a hearty sigh. Tracing random patterns on the ceiling, he tried to keep his mind preoccupied but the worry for his companions managed to sneak through.

_I hope Syaoran-kun didn’t have to go through all this._ In his heart however, Fai knew that he would have faced something much, much worse. Fai had caught a glimpse of some of the boy’s injuries moments before he had cast the spell to take them all away. He himself had stumbled out of the range of the spell when his current captors had shot those drugged darts at him. He could only pray that Kurogane had managed to find help for the boy in time. He hoped that leaving that world would have awoke Mokona from its magical intoxication-induced coma. His thoughts then strayed towards the secret society of mages that had taken refuge in the underground system of caverns. And even within that society, his thoughts strayed towards one in particular. The one that the brute had dubbed as the ‘witch’.

_“Hyuu! We’ve landed in such a beautiful world this time.” Fai grinned. The view before them was a sight to behold: lush, green gardens, beautiful, marble buildings, wide, cobbled streets and golden shimmering shields surrounding most of the buildings._

_“Why do you insist on making that stupid sound?” Kurogane grumbled. “We all know you can whistle so just whistle.”_

_“This is more fun, Kuro-silly.”_

_Kurogane looked away with a ‘tsk’, glancing at the buildings while secretly assessing for threats. Even apparently peaceful worlds could prove hostile to outsiders. And dressed in clothes from clothes of Hanshin Republic, they looked quite out of place. “Again with the nicknames.”_

_“Oh, you know you love them.” Fai laughed, nudging Kurogane with an elbow._

_“Whatever.”_

_A group of teens walked passed them by on the other side of the street, casting somewhat suspicious glances in their direction._

_“I think we should get a change of clothes to better fit in.” Syaoran suggested, watching the disappearing teenagers with a small frown. Something felt off about the whole world and it appeared as though Syaoran had noticed it too._

_“An excellent idea, Syaoran-kun,” Fai nodded, before searching for their fourth companion. “Where is Mokona?”_

_“Isn’t it hiding in that ridiculous jacket of yours?” Kurogane asked with a quirk of his brow._

_“No, Mokona’s not—” Fai broke off when he caught sight of the dimension hopper partially hidden behind a potted plant a few feet away. “Mokona, what are you hiding over there for?” he asked as he approached the creature, his brow furrowing in concern when the dimension hopper remained unresponsive._

_“What’s wrong with Mokona?” Syaoran asked as Fai bent down to pick it up._

_“I’m not—” Fai began to say, his reply cut off when someone collided with his back, sending him sprawling to the ground with an ‘_ oof’. _The girl, barely in her teens, scrambled off him with a gasp._

**_Civilians, get off the streets. A Magi is on the loose. Civilians, get off the streets._  ** _The announcement echoed in their surroundings and Fai looked to his companions in surprise._ Perhaps this world isn’t as peaceful as it appeared at first glance, after all.

_The girl, pushed past them and ran off, throwing a fearful glance towards them over her shoulder before she rounded the corner._

_“She was bleeding,” Syaoran said, offering a hand to Fai to help him off the ground. Fai gave the boy a thankful smile, putting the unconscious Mokona in the inner pocket of his jacket._

_“She could be in trouble.” Fai nodded, unable to get the sight of her naked fear out of his head. “We should go see what had her so scared.” Without waiting for a response, he took off in the direction she had gone, knowing full well that Syaoran and a grumbling Kurogane would be right at his heels._

_The ground to a halt only a couple of streets away, where a group of cloaked men had the girl surrounded. It was a strange sight to behold, for the men were using an amalgamation of ancient and modern weapons to attack the energy shield of crackling violet energy that the girl had summoned to protect herself. Even from where he stood, Fai could easily pick up on two things about the shield: it was the strongest defense the girl had and it was growing weaker with each hit that it took._

_“Shouldn’t we help her?” Syaoran wondered, loud enough only for Fai and Kurogane to hear. The girl had the look of a cornered animal, eye wild with terror. Her pale skin was covered in bruises and bleeding wounds._

_“You there!” one of the cloaked men yelled, apparently having noticed their presence. “Get inside. This magi is dangerous.”_

_“Dangerous?” Fai asked, quirking his brow as he pointedly looked at the terrified girl. “She doesn’t look all that dangerous to me. The three of us, however…” Fai trailed off gesturing to his group before he let a tiny spark of magic slip from his fingers._

_The cloaked man yelped in fright. “The magi has accomplices!”_

_“You did that on purpose,” Kurogane hissed, even as he summoned_ Ginryuu. _Next to him, Syaoran did the same._

_“Maybe I did,” Fai responded in a sing song voice as he took up a ready stance, magic visibly crackling in the air around them, nothing more than a simple trick though it served to scare the hooded men just a little bit. He cocked his head in his companion’s direction and gave Kurogane a sly smile. “Although, you can’t say you haven’t been itching for a fight these past couple of worlds.”_

_“Tch…” Kurogane dodged around a shot aimed for his head, before bringing_ Ginryuu _around in a powerful blow._

_Syaoran murmured something about no longer having a choice before joining the fray as the three raced to the girl’s side._


	4. Browbeaten

_“This place is so different from the part of the city we arrived in.” Syaoran frowned, looking around the barren landscape. Crumbling buildings, ready to fall apart without a moment’s notice littered the area around them._

_“I wonder what could have happened here.” Fai’s gaze was fixed on the deep cracks running across the ground beneath their feet, the ever-present smile missing from his lips for once._

_“You sure this is the place?” Kurogane quirked a brow at the mage, shifting the unconscious girl in his arms as he kept a trained eye on their surroundings._

_“Yes, our new friend gave me quite clear instructions.” Fai nodded, striding towards a building that was halfway to the ground. Syaoran wanted to stop the man from entering the clearly unstable structure though Fai disappeared into the darkness before he could call out._

“No…” Syaoran moaned, his limbs twitching as he shifted in clear discomfort. Sweat dotted his brow as he scrunched his face and tried sinking into the mattress he lay on. Kurogane paused in his retelling to look at the boy before glancing at the princess. Sakura was biting her lip, looking torn between wanting to do something more to ease his pain and leaving the healing spells she had cast undisturbed to do their work. “Please, it hurts…” the boy whimpered. A beat of silence followed before he screamed, eyes flying open as he arched off the bed. “It hurts! Sakura-hime, please, stop! Stop!”

Kurogane lurched forward to grab the flailing brunet, struggling to hold down his thrashing body before he could hurt himself. Syaoran only tried harder.

“Please, don’t hurt me! No!” he cried, eyes wild.

“Syaoran!” Sakura moved to help Kurogane restrain him. The moment her fingers closed around Syaoran’s arm, he grew still, as though turned to stone. He looked between her hand on his skin to her face, eyes wide with naked terror.

“Syaoran, it’s okay,” she said, doing her best to comfort him as she ran her thumb across his knuckles. She offered him a gentle smile, “everything will be alright.”

“Everything… will be alright?” Syaoran repeated, his breath seemingly catching in her throat at the statement as whatever little color remained in his skin was lost.

“Yes.” It broke Sakura’s heart to see him looking at her with such open fear as right before her eyes, the boy she loved seemed to shatter.

“N-No… Please,” he whispered, the sudden lull broken by his mounting terror. Helpless and confused, Sakura could do nothing but witness as desperation and panic overtook his sharp mind. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Sakura-hime. Please… Please, don’t hurt me.”

“Syaoran, I’m not going to hurt you.” Sakura promised, offering his hand a gentle squeeze though it seemed to be the wrong thing to do.

“I’m sorry!” he cried, subtly trying to reclaim his hand at first. His struggles grew successively frantic when Sakura refused to let go. Tears freely poured down his cheeks as he refused to meet her gaze. All of a sudden, his struggles ceased altogether, his face going ashen. “N-No… I s-said I was sorry…” he protested weakly, before in a surprising display of strength, he managed to wrench free.

To Sakura’s horror, he began clawing at his flesh. His nails tore through the barely healed cuts to draw blood and still he kept at it, as though trying to dig something out from under his skin. Kurogane’s hand shot out to grab him, struggling to keep him from inflicting further harm to himself but Syaoran was delirious.

“Sakura-hime, please, stop!” Syaoran screamed, over and over again, hysterical. “Make it stop, please! I’m sorry! Please, not again. No!” Kurogane threw his entire weight on top of the boy in an attempt to restrain him as the boy remained trapped inside whatever hallucinate plagued his mind.

_Crack!_ Kurogane recoiled in shock when Syaoran’s _broken arm_ struck him in the side, with enough force to re-break the bone he had set earlier. Free of Kurogane’s restraining hold, Syaoran shot up in bed, screaming as though something was trying to rip him apart from the inside. Blood bubbled past his lips, dribbling down his chin as he, no doubt, reopened some internal injury. Unable to think of anything else, Kurogane jabbed at the pressure point he had used to put the boy to sleep earlier, catching Syaoran’s limp body in his arms.

_Fuck!_ Kurogane swore, crushing the unconscious boy to his chest as he felt his eyes burn. _I’m going to_ kill _those bastards!_

-0-

Hanging limply from the chains wrapped around his wrist, it took all of Fai’s willpower to not let his head drop forward. Three days. That was how long his captors had left him alone in that cell with the medieval torture device strapped to his throat.

Three days. It had been three days since he had last slept. Three days since he had had anything to eat or drink. He had lost all sensation in his limbs a long time before, though whenever he tried to lower his head to alleviate the lightheadedness, the pointed tip of the torture device would dig into his flesh.

He swallowed thickly, feeling sandpaper scrape the insides of his throat. Shifting his limbs to find a slightly more comfortable position made the waves of agony shoot through his whole body.

And it was only the third day.

_Syaoran was stuck here for two whole months… He has a strong spirit but how long would he have been able to endure all this?_

Dread settled in the pit of his stomach as he recalled the brief glimpse he’d caught of Syaoran’s face right before he’d sent his companions away from that world. Technically, Fai had attempted to transport _all_ of them but he’d been struck by one of those magic negating darts his captors possessed.

_Kerkés, please let him be okay…_ Fai sent a silent prayer to his the Celesian patron god. A moment later, the door to his cell was thrown open.

“Ready to talk yet, Blondie?” the guard sneered. Fai heard two sets of footsteps approach him. Fai clench his jaw and the other man gave a dark chuckle. “You won’t be this tough for long. Let’s see how long you can keep up this act, hmm?”

The chains holding him in place sagged just a little, making his whole body jerk forward. The device around Fai's throat dug in hard enough to draw blood. Knowing better than to repeat that mistake, Fai raised his head at an awkward angle just as the chains slackened completely. Putting on his haughtiest expression, Fai met the guards' amused looks, and venomously challenged the men, "Do your worst."

Fai flickered his eyes to their vampire state, letting the predatory aura surround him in its comforting embrace and both guards drew back in fear. Their skin grew chalky pale as Fai's vampire half reasserted itself in the absence of Fai's magic. 

“Wh-What are you?” Stuttered the one on the right. 

“Me?” Fai pushed himself upright with predatory grace, letting a grin usually favored by Kurogane to grace his lips. He made sure to let them see his elongated fangs as he reached for the collar around his throat. "As corny as this might sound, I'm the last thing you'll ever see.” And with that, Fai ripped off the collar, broken chains jingling behind him as he shot towards the men. 

They never knew what killed them as Fai darted through the door. He was halfway down the corridor when their corpses hit the ground. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fai staying behind wasn't an accident. He knew full well what he was getting into when he transported everyone to Clow but what might his reasons be?  
> Why is Syaoran reacting so badly to Sakura and Kurogane’s presence? Will our favorite ninja and princess be able to figure it out in time to save him and Fai? Or will it be too late? And what of Mokona? Will the bejeweled rabbit wake up anytime soon?  
> I’d love to hear what you guys think might be the answers to these questions. ;)


	5. Busted

The adrenalin pumping through his veins was all that kept Fai on his feet as he darted through the dead trees. Ducking under low hanging branches and jumping over jutting roots, he hurried towards the one place he knew his pursuers wouldn’t be able to follow him. _Magihidusi_ was that world’s only safe haven left for magic users, the entrance hidden in the crumbling ruins of a city long gone.

He could hear the hunters racing after him. He was well out of their sight but Fai knew they wouldn’t have any trouble catching up with him were he to slow down. With his magic being repressed by whatever drug that they had given him, Fai was thankful that his vampire side was keeping him on the move. He could feel it burning in his blood like venom, sending sparks of pain shooting through his limbs but Fai tried to ignore that. He could worry about that once he was inside the hidden city.

He skidded to a halt in front of a crumbling archway. The walls that held it up had long since fallen apart, though the pillars supporting the arch still stood strong. Reciting the words to access the city, he stepped through it, frowning when his surroundings remained the same. Turning on his heels, he glanced at the archway, while keeping an eye out for his pursuers. It took only a moment for his exhausted mind to realize the problem. _I won’t be able to make the gateway work unless I can access my magic._

He could hear the hunters drawing closer. Forcing himself to ignore that, Fai drew a deep breath to steel himself, and visualized the pool of his magic, hoping he could draw upon just enough of its power to activate the archway, but all he came upon was a void. Dread settled in the pit of stomach as he tried searching harder, ignoring the strain it took on him. A stab of pain shot through his chest, breaking his concentration and he fell to his knees. Wet coughs wracked his body and he spat a mouthful of blood as his vision went white, ears ringing.

“There he is!” The hunter sounded far away but if they were close enough to see him— _I need to hide until the drug wears off. And then, I need to find the Oracle._

Fai struggled to his feet, his sleep-deprived and torture body protesting every move but he still managed to stagger away from the archway. A sharp, prickling sensation spread throughout his leg and Fai let out an involuntary whimper. Glancing down, he could see a dart sticking out from his leg.  His vision blurred and he staggered before the paralytic poison sent him crashing to the ground. The enraged hunters surrounded him within moments. _They must have found the guards’ remains in the cell._

Unable to do anything more than twitch his fingers, he waited for them to drag him back to Metropolis, but when the commander moved towards him, the man brought down his boot on Fai’s hand, crushing it under his heel. A startled cry got stuck somewhere in Fai’s chest when another hunter joined the man and a boot collided with his side. Soon, they were all upon him.

Air escaped his lungs in a breathless wheeze as a steel-toed boot connected with his arm at an awkward angle, breaking the bone with an audible crack. The scream of pain was caught somewhere in his throat as he was turned on his back and grabbed by his hair. The hunters dragged him towards the horses, carelessly tying him to the back of one before they began the long journey back to Metropolis.

Barely conscious, Fai was dragged across the cold, unforgiving ground, as the clap of hooves filled the air. Spot of darkness danced across his vision, his gaze fixed upon the portal that the hunters had not paid any mind to. Just before he completely blacked out, Fai caught sight of a cloaked figure emerging from the tree-line, only to watch it vanish through the archway.  

-0-

_“This is amazing!” Syaoran heard Fai exclaim in delight as he stepped under the archway and gnarled jungle of dead trees vanished, only to be replaced by a magnificently carved tunnel, lit by torches set into brackets built into the walls of the tunnel. Syaoran was itching to examine the intricate carvings in the stone, however, when Kurogane began leading the way towards the end of the tunnel, he obediently followed behind. Glancing behind him, Syaoran saw no signs of the arch or the jungle. The tunnel opened up into an enormous carven that seemed to be housing an entire city._

_They emerged into, what appeared to be, a marketplace of some sort. People milled about the tents and stalls set up by vendors selling their wares. The girl in Kurogane’s arms stirred but did not wake as they stepped into the light. Glancing up, Syaoran estimated the cavern to be, at least, a couple of hundred feet high and perhaps several times that in width. A glowing yellow crystal hung in the air near the roof, proving the light for the underground city, like a miniature sun. A group of armed men noticed their appearance and headed towards them._

_The tallest of the group stepped forward, spear poised to attack as he observed them through narrowed eyes. “What business do you have here, strangers?”_

_Before any of them could answer, however, a woman ran out of the crowd with a cry of, “Violetta!”_

_The guard caught the woman before she could reach them, mistrust evident in his features as he banged his spear on the ground and Syaoran felt a buildup of magic._

_“Stop!” An authoritative voice rang out across the city and the guards quickly stood down, though none of the men lowered their guard. The crowd parted to give way to a tall figure. The newcomer had his head bowed, dark, unruly bangs hiding his face from view though Syaoran felt his hackles rise at the amount of magic exuding off of him. “As the commander asked, what business do you have here, strangers?”_

_“Are you Blaze-san?” Fai inquired politely, using the name that the mysterious Violetta had given them before falling unconscious. The magician stepped in front of Syaoran and Kurogane in a silent indication to let him do the talking._

_“Who wishes to know?” the newcomer asked._

_Syaoran noticed the slight stiffening of Fai’s shoulders, the sudden tense set to his shoulders. None of it was evident in his tone however, when he answered with a flourishing bow. “Fai D. Flourite, High Mage of the Royal Court of Celes, at your service.”_

_Glancing at the newcomer who still stood with his head bowed, Syaoran wondered why Fai had decided to suddenly adopt such a formal manner. He appeared to have recognized the man. The newcomer raised his head and Syaoran was surprised by how young he appeared. Barely a few years older than himself. His sightless, grey eyes stared right through the group and Syaoran felt a prickle of discomfort through his spine when the man’s gaze seemed to focus on him for a few seconds. It passed as soon as the man returned his attention to Fai._

_“A dimension traveler.” He nodded with a thoughtful frown. “And who might your companions be, Fai D. Flourite?”_

_“These are my travel companions, Syaoran Li, a renowned archeologist from Clow and Kurogane, a noble warrior of the Land of Nihon.” Syaoran barely managed to keep his surprise from showing. Why in the world would Fai introduce him as an archeologist when it had been the clone who had been in that profession?_

_“A bit far from home, are you not, High Mage?” the man questioned lightly._

_“I have travelled much further, Oracle,” Fai replied, tone equally light and Syaoran gave a start._ Fai knows him?

_“I can tell.” the Oracle chuckled, turning his focus to the group of armed men. “It’s alright, Commander. These travelling mages mean no harm. Please bring Violetta to the healing chambers. Masooma can oversee her treatment.”_

_With a brisk nod, the commander stepped forward and took the unconscious girl from Kurogane. Turning on his heels, the man set off on a brisk jog through the slowly dispersing crowd, turning down one of the side streets to vanish from Syaoran’s line of sight. The Oracle waited for the rest of the crowd to leave before moving in their direction, a much more genuine smile on his face when he addressed Fai with open arms. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”_

_“It_ has _been a while,” Fai grinned, stepping forth to embrace the man. “It’s so good to see you again, even if I wasn’t expecting running into you_ here _of all places.”_

_The Oracle laughed and Syaoran barely managed to conceal his frown. “Knowing me, you should have come to expect it, Fai.”_


End file.
